Over the weekend, I ran the NYRR Mini 10k as part of my 9+1 for the 2017 NYC Marathon! I love the race because of the course and have done it a handful of times in thepast. About a week ago, I decided to “race” to the best of current ability in order to gauge my fitness level. I am three months postpartum and have been working out often (T25 at home) and running a couple of times each week, nothing crazy but enough to make me wonder where I stood.

I didn’t know what to expect but hoped for an average pace of around 9:00/mi. It was a nice morning, a little humid (around 65 degrees, could have been worse for June).

Miles 1-3

I love the course of this race because the first and part of the second mile run up Central Park West and then you enter Central Park (and its challenging hills) for the remainder of the race. The start of the race was crowded, but not terrible (corrals went off in waves, which is new for NYRR). It’s fun to run on the street for part of the race and the crowds were awesome. I ran the first three miles with my friend, Fiona and the time went by rather quickly because we were chatting all things babies and working-mom life. We sort of thought we were going too fast but I felt better than expected (even with the aggressive hills, yay) so I kept at it. Miles 1-3: 9:00, 8:37, 8:39.

Miles 4-6.2

Shortly after Fiona and I were separated, I saw Abby cheering! It’s been way too long since we saw one another so she jumped in for a bit and we were able to catch up! I definitely felt semi-tired after the fourth mile but wanted to continue to give it my best effort. I knew that the last two miles weren’t as challenging in terms of elevation and I had run in this park hundreds of times. I knew I could get through the last miles. I started thinking about how I felt returning to running after Jennie was born and that it was a huge physical and emotional struggle. I knew I felt better this time so I used that pride and found some energy to speed up. Miles 4-6.2: 8:36, 8:21, 8:17 (last .2 was 7:50 pace).

I crossed the finish line and was really proud of myself. I obviously was not breaking any speed records but I ran a smart race (with a negative split, always a win) a little faster than I believed I could and it gave me some hope for some speed over the summer and for my half marathon training in the fall.

Overall: 6.2 miles, 53:35, 8:38 pace

Filtered is always better.

Side note: I love the atmosphere of this all-women race (I keep coming back) BUT are the pink shirts, medals, bagels, carnations really necessary? It may be just me but pink does not equal feminism.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I try to be thankful all year but sometimes I am an asshole and selfish and forget (so if you put up an Insta pic on Thanksgiving that said just that to try to make me feel bad, you succeeded). Anyway, I love a nice reminder of how good my life is and I love spending time with family and I love eating (for two) so it is always a great day for me.

Another reason to love Thanksgiving is the TURKEY TROT! Running weather around the time of year is always pretty great and the races are usually fun and full of people in turkey hats ready to burn some calories before eating until they hate themselves.

This year, I decided to run the Morristown Turkey Trot again. I ran it few years ago and swore to never do it again because of the ridiculous climb during the second mile. I was originally going to run the same trot as I had last year (Chatham Turkey Trot) but it filled up before I remembered to register. Steph promised (or I am forcing her, it’s up for debate) to run a race with me each month of this pregnancy so we signed up last minute. Before the race decided we would try to run < 9:00 miles (or as fast as I could go without getting aggressive).

The first mile was rough and felt like I was running in the sand and I immediately decided to “run casually” because I like to give up easily. The second mile was also rough because of the climb mentioned above. I did feel good about myself because I kept running when many others were walking (and no one wants to get outrun by a pregnant lady and I outran some people). The third mile started downhill and ended flat so it was easy to pick up the pace, plus my warmup issues were over by then and I felt pretty good (just in time to finish and stop running).

We finished in 26:22 (8:29 average, splits were 8:38, 8:38, 8:05). I saw the time on the clock and was really happy. To be cheesy, I thought about how thankful I was that I am still able to run (relatively well) this far into the pregnancy. To be not-cheesy, I felt great about still being able to pass some people and finish strong (it is a race after all).

I am already excited to work on my speed again after this baby and to run another turkey trot next year (and drink wine on holidays and every day).

Thank you for all of the kind messages over the weekend! I am happy to report that the race went REALLY well. I am actually still so surprised (and elated) by how well it went. Steph ran the entire race by my side and our official time was 1:58:17!

We were comfortably chatting and the miles went by quickly. I felt stronger as the race progressed. Steph wore the watch and didn’t tell me our pace (I didn’t ask either). We made one stop around mile 4 so I could use the bathroom and another quick stop to give her daughter a kiss around mile 9! Mile 11 was rather congested and was our slowest split (9:20) due to the narrow path and coming up on the 2:00 pace group. It wasn’t until then that I realized we were going to break two hours.

I had assumed we would finish anywhere from 2:05-2:10. This was due to a few reasons: (1) I finished the RW Half in 2013 while pregnant with Jennie in 2:08, (2) My average pace for the 3 long runs I did in the last few weeks was in the 9:10-9:30 range (and included some walk, water and pee breaks) and (3) I never know how I will feel when I wake up each day, sometimes it is not good at all and sometimes I feel completely normal.

The end didn’t feel very good. My knees hurt (obviously, I was running a half marathon + 15 lbs). BUT it wasn’t even close to the worse that I have felt. HUGE WIN. I was so happy during the last quarter-mile, I kept saying it out loud. I kept thanking Steph. She believed in me so she kept me going at a sustainable pace. We crossed the finish and hugged. I felt so proud and so thankful. I am almost 20 weeks pregnant. I am days away from being half way through the pregnancy and I just ran a sub-2 half marathon.

I ran right into my mom and Jennie and gave them both a giant hug! SO FULL OF LOVE AND PREGNANT AND EMOTIONAL!!!

The race itself was A M A Z I N G. The organization (Superhero Racing) is local and put on a fantastic and well-organized event. The course was perfect. It was a great mix of hills (both up and down, some steep, some rolling) and flat stretches. It ran through beautiful neighborhoods and on a paved trail inside a huge park. The foliage was on full display for us! The volunteers were great and full of words of support. I will definitely be back in the future, hopefully to race hard!!!

Ahhh, the ONLY downside to the race is the chafing in between my boobs that I didn’t know I had until I got in the shower after the race. I actually screamed out loud. I was carrying a small plastic bag of raisins in my sports bra (same as I always do during all long runs and races) and it actually injured me in 3 spots. Holy shit it hurts.

The rest of the day was fun too. While Jennie was napping I ordered Dominos and ate all of it (because this is a #fitpregnancy. After Jennie woke up and ate lunch (not Dominos), we went to a local church for a small pumpkin sale (we needed to get her a pumpkin to decorate at school this week). She was so excited and ran around and stopped at each big pumpkin to touch, hug, kiss, lick it or trip over it (#advanced).

Afterward we spent some time at a friend’s house and had a play date! It was cut short because Jennie shit and I forgot a diaper. Can’t win them all 🙂

To keep up with the workout tracking, my workouts this week are below…

M 10/12: off

T 10/13: off

W 10/14: 3.1 mi untimed

Th 10/15: 4 mi untimed

F 10/16: off

S 10/17: off

Su 10/18: 13.1 mi Halloween Half Marathon (1:58:14, 9:01 avg)

Total: 20.2 mi

This week I plan to rest for as long as I think is necessary but so far I feel ok (another win)!

Meet Ashley

Welcome to Running Bun! I am Ashley, a working-mom who loves running and training for races, attempting yoga inversions, a strong cocktail, and a good dose of sarcasm. This blog is where I share a lot of random thoughts about the above with some parenting woes mixed in for good measure.